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Senate panel advances bill to standardize absentee ballot handling and notification
Summary
Senator Tuckersponsored legislation would rename early counts as "preliminary," require uniform absentee forms, allow earlier canvassing so voters can cure deficient ballots, and mandate referral to prosecutors and the State Board of Election Commissioners when fraud is suspected; committee approved the bill by roll call.
Senator Tucker told the Senate committee that Senate Bill 217 is intended to "clean up the absentee ballot voting process" by making forms, terminology and counting procedures uniform across the state. He said the bill replaces the term "unofficial result" with "preliminary count" and keeps the statutory restriction that ballots cannot be counted before 8:30 a.m. on election day.
Tucker said the bill would allow county poll workers to begin canvassing ballots as soon as they arrive so clerks can notify voters if a ballot is deficient and give them a chance to cure it…
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